Wednesday, March 15, 2017

I love wearing aprons. I remember my mom and her aprons when I was little, they carried in vegetables from the garden, baby chicks to come in and get warmed up, kept her clothes clean as she cooked and did house work. An apron makes me feel connected to the past.

Wikipedia says an apron is a functional accessory that layers over ones outfit to protect ones clothes and skin from incidental stains and marks. To me they are so much more.

My aprons get a lot of use and get pretty stained and worn looking, so after winning a new apron from My Mother's Apron Strings, I decided it was time to make a couple of new aprons. This way they can be changed out each day and stay nicer looking longer. Found a cute board to hang them on, I enjoy walking by and seeing them just hanging there.

The apron with cherries on it has seen better days, but just can't bring myself to give it up yet! The pattern I used is quick, easy and fun to make.

While waiting for my Girl Scout Cookies I made some Chocolate Peppermint Cookies you can find the recipe here.

No longer have to wait for the once a year Thin Mint Cookies, I'm not sure if that is a good thing:)

Monday, March 6, 2017

I have been enjoying my Instant Pot. The first foods that I cooked were roasts and chicken breasts, we have enjoyed how they have turned out. This winter have made soups, chili, swiss steak with potatoes, and spaghetti sauce.

Have also made yogurt twice and haven't come up with a consistency that I am happy with. My first batch you could drink it (worked great in smoothies) and the second batch was a little thicker, it all tastes fine, but still working on it.

Last week I made Lemon Curd.

Very tasty, I could eat it by the spoonful. Adding it to my yogurt along with some blueberries and sliced almonds. Now that I have seen how easy it is to make in the Instant Pot, need to find some recipes for Lemon Curd.

Instant Pot Lemon Curd

3 Tbs butter room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest (personal preference)

3 1-cup Mason Jars

Mix the butter
and sugar in a bowl for about 2 minutes.

Slowly add the egg and yolk and mix for for 1 minute.

Add the lemon juice and mix to combine. The mixture
will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

Pour mixture into three one-cup Mason jars and place
the lids, turning until the lid just catches. I use three jars so it doesn’t
leak out the jars during cooking.

Place 1~ 1/2 cups of water in the Pressure Cooker and
place a trivet inside.

Place Mason jars on top of trivet.

Lock on lid and close the Pressure Valve.

Cook on high heat for 10 minutes.

When Beep is heard, allow a 10 minute Natural Pressure
Release.

Remove jars from Pressure Cooker and carefully open.

Add in the Lemon Zest and stir into the curd, until
smooth.

Place lids on Curd and tighten just until the lid
catches.

Allow to cool for 25 minutes and then place in the
refrigerator overnight.

Curd will thicken as it cools.

Enjoying experimenting with new recipes for the Instant Pot, also loving how the food tastes and how fast it is finished.